Since our women's retreat, there has been much discussion concerning the "proper" colors for advent candles. Some use purple with a pink for the Theotokos, following the Roman Catholic tradition. Others have a more elaborate color system - with a different color for each Sunday during Advent. This year, I decided to use the beeswax candles I already had at home - and to differentiate the weeks, I printed off thumbnail icons for each Sunday. A little mod podge and some gold 3-D paint around the edges, and we now have a lovely advent wreath, commemorating the Sundays that fall during Advent.
Download icon imagesAnd, if you are looking for an amazing resource of beautiful fresco icon images of some harder to find parables etc - check out this site!
11 comments:
So, is this designed just for this year? Since the feasts during Nativity Fast are mostly Menaion (other than the last two Sundays), I'm just wondering. By the way, this is a great year for Sundays in the Nativity Fast: St. Nicholas AND St. Herman are on Sundays!
that's right - I did it according to the Sundays for this year - I included more icons than just this year, because I went ahead and gathered the typical Sunday gospel readings during this time of year beginning with the 23rd Sunday after Pentecost through the 28th Sunday. It only took a few minutes to make the candles - and since I have to replace the candles every year anyway, I figured it would be nice to have a way to connect it with the church cycle, instead of the symbols of peace etc. that are often used.
What a great idea!
Wherever did you find that lovely advent wreath? Did you make it?
thanks!great idea!
http://dulcecasa.blogspot.com/2009/11/coronita-noastra-de-advent.html
That's actually very attractive, as well as practical! I love the neutral color scheme - much better than the pink and purple. May have to try that myself...
That wooden wreath was a wedding gift from a Deacon in our church who made a lot of them when he and a group from the EOC converted to Orthodoxy. I was fortunate to receive one - as no one can convince him to make more now! A few people have replicated the wooden idea by taking a disk of wood and adding some wooden candle holders from Hobby Lobby or other craft store and staining it. Not quite as pretty, but has the wooden look. I admit when we first got ours I used to cover it with greenery, but the look of the wood grew on me and for years now I have just put it out plain. I agree, I love the way the beeswax goes with it this year - definitely a new tradition for our house :)
What a beautiful idea!
I see that your wreath has seven candles around the perimeter, plus one in the middle. This is my first Orthodox Nativity Fast, and I've been pulling my hair out trying to figure out how many candle holders a permanent advent wreath needs. I've seen six, seven, eight... how do you light the candles when November 15 doesn't fall on Sunday? Will you have an extra candle this year?
Please forgive my ignorance, and thank you in advance for your reply!
Normally you would light one candle on the 15th, then one for each Sunday, and one for Christmas day. Since the fast begins on Sunday this year we do have an extra candle - so I chose to light one on the day of the Presentation of the Theotokos (some people light a blue candle on the Sunday closest to the Presentation). Really, like everything else, it is a flexible thing, so hard and fast rule to follow - "t" not "T" tradition :) so do whatever works for you each year.
Hello,
Can you update the information for this year? I'm Byzantine Catholic praying about converting to Orthodox and would love to follow this tradition properly.
Thank you
I will try to post icons for this year over the weekend - am just now sitting down to wrap all of my books and set out advent items, this has been a full year and I am running behind! Stay posted and I will update -
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